Possible anti-tumour promoters from

Possible anti-tumour promoters from the Thai edible plants
Cymbopogon citratus (lemon grass or lapine)
C. citratus (Gramineae) is widely distributed throughout South-east Asia. The leaves and stem of the young plant are reported to have anti-fungal, repellent, and bacteriostatic activities53. It also has traditionally been used as a tonic or in perfume on account of its lemon-like fragrance. Two isomeric monoterpene aldehydes (Figure 2), geranial (trans-citral) and neral (cis-citral), were isolated as the EBV activation inhibitors from the leaves. As Connor has already reported the anti-tumour promoting activity of a mixture of these citrals in mouse skin54, we independently examined each EBV activation inhibition activity of geranial and neral after being purified by HPLC (Novapak Cl8, 50 % acetonitrile in H2O).